COVID-19 Numbers Improve In Greenwich: Latest Update

Greenwich CT

19 January, 2022

6:53 PM

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GREENWICH, CT — First Selectman Fred Camillo and Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly held their biweekly COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday and indicated some encouraging news in the fight against the pandemic. Kelly said that according to wastewater testing results, it appears that Greenwich has reached its peak in this latest wave of the pandemic. "It looks like we're on a decline. We have to wait and see," Kelly said, noting that the number of hospitalizations are also on the decline. As of Wednesday, there were 46 COVID-19-positive patients being treated at Greenwich Hospital, down from 56 two weeks ago. Of the 46, five are in the Intensive Care Unit and three are on ventilators, Kelly said. Across the Yale New Haven Health System as of Wednesday, there were 617 COVID-19 patients being treated, down from 700 on Jan. 5. "I know with this decline people might be tempted to maybe take their foot off the pedal a little bit," Kelly said, "but I'd like to take this opportunity to make sure everyone [practices] social distancing, wearing their masks when they're in a group of other people, and most importantly please get vaccinated and boosted if you have not been boosted." Kelly announced that Yale New Haven Health has recognized the booster shot as being fully vaccinated. All system employees must be fully vaccinated by the end of March. As of Wednesday, there were about 30 staff members at Greenwich Hospital out with COVID-19 infections. Kelly called staff absences a "stressor", but numbers are improving weekly. Across Greenwich, Camillo said there have been 768 new COVID-19 cases since last week, bringing the total number of cases to 10,347 since the pandemic began in March 2020. There are currently 595 active cases, an increase of 36 over a week ago, and the death toll in town has increased by one to 105. Camillo said for now, COVID-19 policies at Town Hall will remain in place. "As we see these cases start to go down more and more, and there's some light at the end of the tunnel, we'll definitely readjust in a few weeks. But right now we're just going to stay the course," he said. At-home COVID-19 tests figure to play a significant role in the fight against the pandemic going forward. This week, Americans can begin to order tests from the federal government. Four tests per home address will be mailed out in the coming days to those who place orders. Kelly acknowledged that unreported positive results from at-home tests could skew case numbers and data. However, she highlighted that the tests will be a valuable tool in stopping the spread of COVID-19. "If you're looking at it from a public health policy, data analytics [perspective], I think it will definitely skew the information, but that's really not the primary goal right now. The primary goal is to eradicate this spread, and the best way to do that is arm the public with the information they need, so if you are positive, you know the right things to do," Kelly said. "I think more people having availability and access to testing is in our best interest."